The issue of wind and solar energy development has always been a hot button in the California desert, and the Trump Administration just pressed it.
"The Trump administration threatened Thursday to undo a hard-fought conservation plan to protect millions of acres of California’s Mojave Desert from industrial development," reports Carolyn Lochhead.
The plan in question is the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP). The Bureau of Land Management approved the land use element of the plan in 2016, after years of controversy between conflicting approaches to environmentalism. The plan mediates the need for renewable energy in a green economy, and the need to protect habitat for endangered species like the desert tortoise on the other hand. The article includes more details on the final version of the CRECP.
Now, "the federal Bureau of Land Management said it is considering re-examining the plan to comply with an executive order by President Trump last year to increase energy development on public lands," according to Lochhead.
The news about the potential changes to the DRECP brought a swift rebuke from U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein (D - CA). "Scrapping the plan now is a complete waste of time and money, and I oppose this," Feinstein said in a statement.
Read the full story: Trump administration signals move against California desert protection plan
Key Wins for Conservation in 2024
The year brought some important victories to advocates for public lands, national monuments, and the reclamation of Indigenous history.
Rural Nevada Counties Struggle to Keep up with Solar Projects
Local officials are calling for state regulations that would require federal land managers to enter agreements with local jurisdictions before moving forward with major renewable energy projects.
BLM Allocates Funding to Study Renewables Impact on Public Lands
The large-scale study will assess how proposed solar farms and other renewable energy projects could impact animals, plants, and habitats.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Satanic Place Names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority